Asaad al-Eidani

Asaad al-Eidani (1 January 1967-) was Governor of Basra from 27 August 2017, succeeding Majid al-Nasrawi. He was nominated for Prime Minister of Iraq by the Fatah Alliance and State of Law Coalition on 25 December 2019, only to be rejected by President Barham Salih a day later.

Biography
Asaad al-Eidani was born in Basra, Iraq on 1 January 1967, and he became deputy chairman of the al-Bilad Islamic Bank and director of the Iraqi Trade Bank for five years before entering politics. He fled to Iran after taking part in a failed 1991 uprising against the Ba'athist government, and he was imprisoned by Iraqi intelligence from 1995 to 2002. al-Eidani later became deputy leader of the Iraqi National Congress party, and, on 25 December 2019, he was nominated to serve as Prime Minister of Iraq by the Fatah Alliance and State of Law Coalition amid protests which forced PM Adil Abdul-Mahdi to resign. However, a day later, President Barham Salih was pressured by the protesters to reject al-Eidani's nomination due to his connections with Iranian-backed parties.